So, what do you do, in addition to asking others for a recommendation, to find a good lawyer to handle your legal matter? What follows are some additional steps to follow that may be of help.

Go to a local law library, which can generally be found in a nearby law school. Find a set of books called "Martindale-Hubbell." Look up the lawyer and determine whether he (or she) has an "AV" rating. “A”stands for the highest level of professional skill, and “V”stands for “very high ethical standards.” Those ratings are based upon the opinions of other lawyers who have an AV rating. If the lawyer or law firm is rated BV or higher they have the option to also pay for an expanded listing in Martindale Hubbell where they can provide additional information about their qualifications. That can include a list of the kind of cases they handle but, because that is written by the lawyers themselves, it is not as meaningful as the other information.

Next you should go on the internet and look at the firm’s website. It will also have information about the lawyers in the firm. But please note that sometimes a lawyer will have been designated as a “superlawyer” by some publication or organization. I am a bit wary of that because it seems to be given mainly to members of larger firms in larger cities. Limiting one’s choice to those lawyers might lead to selection of a lawyer in a large firm who does not do his own case-preparation.

Then, if you can find someone who has used this lawyer, it doesn’t hurt to ask about their experience with him remembering, however, that if that person lost their case their opinion might be affected by the result rather than the talent of the lawyer.

Finally you need to visit a few lawyers and outline your problem, and then listen carefully to the advice you receive and inject, into the equation, your feelings. Generally there is no fee for the initial consultation where the lawyer is listening to your problem in order to see whether you have a case.

In these materials I have referred to the prospective lawyer as “he” and “him” rather than “she” and “her.” That was done only for the sake of simplicity and to avoid awkward and repetitive “him or her” and “she or he” references. I want to be very clear that there are a lot of women who are great attorneys. In fact, it is my experience that very often they are the top students in their classes and very talented in the courtroom. I would pay no attention whatsoever as to whether a male or a female might be best.

Please know that there is no guarantee that all of this will lead you to the best attorney for your case, but following these steps is better than just relying on the advice of others. I wouldn’t ignore the advice of others who may have used the lawyer, but I would want to consider such advice only after having done my homework.